


Rain

by deaneatscake



Series: tumblr fics [8]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Bookseller Castiel, Dean is Bad at Feelings, Fluff, Lots of rain, M/M, Professor Dean, Rain, not that overbearing on the plot though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-11 05:01:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11707332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deaneatscake/pseuds/deaneatscake
Summary: Dean gets stuck in the rain. Castiel helps out. Multiple times. Dean doesn't get it.





	Rain

It’s suprising how much a few chance meetings and a lot, lot of rain can change people. 

Dean sees the new assistant at the bookstore on a rainy Saturday. He actually just wanted to stop by quickly to buy a batch of new books to prepare his classes but considering the fact that he doesn’t have an umbrella he doesn’t particularly look forward to go back into the pouring rain anytime soon.

Because he isn’t pressed for time he decides to browse through the different categories instead, trying to look interested and like he knows what he’s doing while reading the back cover of foreign novels. And that’s where he sees the assistant at first, sorting through a few Greek translations. He has dark, messy hair and is wearing a suit, albeit with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up. After having it dangling into the third or fourth book he sighs and loosely throws his tie over his shoulder. The books are getting sorted quickly; he obviously knows what he’s doing and, unlike Dean, can read what these books are supposed to be about.

When he catches Dean staring at him, he smiles politely before resuming his work and Dean turns away, blushing and quickly abandoning his German cover of a Stephen King novel.

After that, it seems like he’s cursed. Even when Dean is going through the actual section he needs - the science one - the assistant is nearby, taking stock or something like that. Dean quickly grabs the books he needs and goes to browse the next section.

He sees him again in the Lifestyle section, carrying a few books to the door that leads to the storeroom. When he comes back with what looks like new books to sort in in his surprisingly muscular arms, Dean is looking at a book of poems by T.S. Eliot. He nods politely, acknowledging Dean’s existence again and Dean all but flees. He feels like a coward, but he can’t help it.

About thirty minutes and what feels like thirty chance meetings later he doesn’t have any more reasonable excuses to spend time in this store so he picks his new books up and goes to the counter. It’s still raining way too much but he thinks if he stays here for a minute longer he will spontaneously combust so the rain is a welcome distraction.

Because this just isn’t Dean’s day, of course the new assistant is there to take his order. J. Castiel says the polished name plate and he wonders where this name is from; maybe it’s Greece - it certainly would explain why he knows this language.

He gets distracted by the thin long fingers with which J. Castiel scans his books and doesn’t hear his remark at first. “Huh?” he asks when he sees the assistant looking at him expectantly.

“I said,” the guy replies with a smile, “That is quite an interesting book selection. I like Eliot’s works, too, although I don’t understand a thing about quantum physics. Oh, and that will be 52 dollars and 40 cent.”

“Uhm,” Dean answers and looks at the books that have just been scanned. Sure enough, a copy of T.S. Eliot’s poems is amongst them. God, today is not his day. He fumbles his purse out of his pocket and pays the agreed amount before looking out of the window and seeing that the rain now is evolving into a full blown storm.

“You don’t happen to sell any umbrellas, do you?”

Cas - at least that’s what Dean is calling the assistant in his mind because Jay Cas-tiel is definitely way too long - shakes his head sympathetically. “No, I’m sorry. But if it’s any consolation, I think they promised us lots of sunshine after this heavy rain that will get you dry.”

“Great,” Dean sighs. “Thanks anyway.”

**—————————————-**

The next time he visits the bookstore it’s for a new book of poems; out of frustration he had actually started to read the book he had bought and it had been surprisingly good. It’s a warm Tuesday when he’s browsing through the poem section and he doesn’t see the new assistant one time. He’s kind of disappointed although he doesn’t quite know why. Yes, he had been kind of sexy. And the voice - well, it wasn’t bad either. But he’s not going to pine away at some stupid teenage crush, he’s 26, for fuck’s sake.

“I can recommend Charles Baudelaire,” a voice behind him says and Dean whirls around, apparently looking like he’s seen a ghost because now Cas - of course it’s Cas - issues a quick apology. “I’m sorry, we don’t usually - I don’t sneak up on customers like that. But I remembered you, you were the guy without the umbrella, right? I hope you got home okay.”

“Yeah, it was, uhm, well - wet.” Dean clears his throat and looks at the collection of poems by various authors in his hand. “I actually kind of decided on something else, but thanks anyway.”

“Oh. Well I’m sure whatever choice you made it will be fine. Do you want to buy it now?”

With that, Dean follows Cas back to the counter and watches him scan the book. “I’m pretty sure I can give you a discount,” he says conspiratorially. “I’m alone in the store right now and they’ll probably believe me I bought this for my own.”

“Thanks, man,” Dean answers surprised.

“Castiel,” Cas - Castiel - offers immediately. “Actually that’s my last name but I’ve always thought the name James to be too boring. At least for this eccentric line of work. Have a nice day -”

He’s clearly waiting for a sign. “Dean,” he scrambles to say.

“Dean. Goodbye, Dean.”

It’s just when Dean turns around and wants to step out of the bookstore when a torrential rain starts. “Oh God, no,” he groans and wishes he would have bought a plastic bag for his little book. He prepares himself to shield the book with his jacket - and life, if necessary - but Cas holds him back.

“Wait,” he says while stepping in front of the counter. “I’m not supposed to do this but I think we have a collection of umbrellas in our storeroom, mostly from customers who lost theirs. We’re supposed to give them back when they ask for them but I have yet to see this happen. I can give you one.”

For the second time of the day Dean can only nod and be thankful. With a slightly dappered, completely black umbrella in hand he makes his way home almost completely dry.

**—————————————-**

The third time he meets Castiel it’s when he passes the bookstore at closing time. He’s in kind of a hurry because it’s raining yet again and of course he didn’t think of bringing an umbrella yet again (he can practically hear his mother’s scolding). Castiel is just outside the bookstore, closing and locking it when their eyes meet.

He smiles at first before a frown appears on his face, taking Dean’s miserably wet condition in. “Dean!” he says concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Sure, just fine, Cas,” Dean answers, not noticing the way the nickname flows over his tongue. “Just want to get home.” He sounds kind of out of breath and he really, really wants to get home.

“I see. Let me - I can give you another umbrella.” He tries to unlock the door again but fails and sighs..

“I forgot that after locking the door you can’t reopen it within the next fifteen minutes. I suppose you don’t want to wait that long, right?” He doesn’t even let him agree or disagree, he just keeps going. “I can of course give you mine and wait myself -”

“Cas, God, no, that’s not - you don’t even know me. I’ll be fine.”

The frown on Castiel’s face deepens. “I suppose so. But still, I would feel bad to just let you go without any shelter. Where are you heading?”

Dean gives him the general area his apartment is in; while Cas seems like a fine dude (in more than one way) he still doesn’t feel comfortable giving him his precise address.

“We can walk there, I need to go there too,” Cas concludes, apparently satisfied that he has found a fitting solution. “You will have to take the umbrella, of course, because you are taller than me.”

He’s not sure how to say no to this so he doesn’t. And although he tries to talk himself into not taking this too seriously, because this is just a goddamn shop assistant that’s only there for maybe 20 hours a week anyway and he doesn’t even know him and he doesn’t do this petty romance thing anymore -

He finds himself getting drawn to the man, talking about a whole lot of nothing during the twenty minutes they need to get to his apartment. When they’re standing in front of the door to the complex he’s surprised he has even let Cas get that far; what happened to the stranger danger his mom had warned him about?

“Thanks, Cas,” he says, feeling a little bit uncomfortable, not knowing how to proceed from here. “That was really, really great of you. I have to pay it back to you one time.”

“Just continue to buy books in the store,” Cas answers with a sly smile. “We always need the profit.”

The weird thing is, he actually plans to.

**—————————————-**

The next time isn’t Dean’s fault at all. It’s Wednesday, already a terrible day because he has three classes after another, but the thing is, he  _has_ brought an umbrella and it’s not his fault that the umbrella that Cas has given him has betrayed him like this, breaking because of the tiniest gust of wind.

So now he stands in front of a café, hiding from the rain under the small roof, contemplating whether or not he should go inside and drink a coffee while waiting for the rain to pass or just put up with the rain. He has almost come to a decision when a hand taps on his back.

“Hello, Dean,” a familiar voice says. “What a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here? On a date?”

Dean laughs. Yeah, sure. “No,” he says. “Just - my umbrella quit and I just wanted to be in a dry place for once.”

Cas looks at him solemnly. “Dean, answer me truthfully: did you or your parents do anything to deserve a curse that prevents to from keeping dry underwear in the rain? There are some books in the store that could help you with that.”

He lasts for three seconds before bursting into a laugh, taking Dean with him. Then, he pats Dean on the back again and pushes him into the café.

They end up sharing a table because it would be weird not to and talk about their lives for hours. After their second cup of coffee Dean notices that the sun is actually coming out but they both mutually decide to ignore this in favour of ordering a piece of apple pie for one of them each.

It’s when they decide to pay that the rain starts again. “Oh no,” Cas says quietly before putting out his umbrella, the same as last time - dark blue with a few bees as a border. “Please, take this. I feel terrible for having hold up you so long.”

Dean wants to protest, but he almost gets the umbrella slapped into his face and finally agrees. “I only need to walk a few blocks from here, anyway, Dean.”

When he’s home he gently puts the umbrella into his bathtub to dry.

**—————————————-**

He’s back the next day at the bookstore before he knows it, not even sure what he wants to buy, if anything; maybe a few other poems if he could remember the name of the poet Castiel had recommended to him; there is no way he’s going to just ask him that because that would imply that he remembered their conversations and was thoughtful and - no, he doesn’t want to come off as desperate.

The bee  umbrella is safely in his hand when he enters the store, searching for Cas. He sees him sorting through a few books in the science section and approaches him carefully.

“Hey,” he greets him and he can’t help but feel a flutter in his chest when Cas turns around and starts to smile openly at the sight of Dean.

“Hello, Dean,” he says. “What can I do for you?”

“I, uhm, just brought you your umbrella back. It looks kind of personal, you know? I didn’t want to keep it.”

If possible, Cas’ face only lightens up more. “Thank you, that’s very considerate of you. I did miss it, it was a gift from my niece. Thank you, Dean,” he repeats, putting just a little bit more emphasis on Dean’s name than on anything else.

Dean swallows. He could browse for a book right now but he’s rooted to the spot, thoughts whirling through his mind. The thing is, everything he wants to see is either incredibly cheesy or incredibly inappropriate. He doesn’t want to make this - them - a thing, alright? Yeah, they talked a few times and it had felt more intimate than any of the conversations than he had in a long time - but that doesn’t mean anything.

Considering Cas’ language, that’s just the way he is: polite, articular, well-mannered. He should probably just go, without buying anything. Go and never come back; this is too embarrassing for everyone involved. “Alright, I’ll be -” he starts but Cas interrupts him.

“Wait, Dean, I do have something for you too.” Dean wonders about the too because he didn’t give Cas anything that didn’t belong to him at first while Cas is running off to the storeroom, coming back a few minutes ater with another umbrella in his hand.

“We, uhm, we actually got this as part of the new school year,” he says and for the first time since he’s met him Cas seems actually shy and at a loss of what to say. “They’re gifts from a few publishers - they’re getting advertised as math umbrellas but they made me think of your books and I know this probably has nothing at all do with physics but I just -”

Dean takes the umbrella in his hand. It’s green, with dark blue math formulas written over it as far as he can see while it’s in its package and it’s great. It has been a long time since he has gotten a gift. “Thanks,” he says, hoping to convey everything he feels in this tiny word. He’s not sure he did it but at least Cas smiles.

“It’s no big deal, I mean, I didn’t actually pay for it, so it’s… well, at least this will hopefully keep you dry.”

**—————————————-**

He’s almost home when it starts to rain; it’s not actually that bad but if he has a new umbrella now why not test it directly? So Dean opens the umbrella and almost doesn’t notice a little note flattering out of it. It’s only the fact that it gets stuck on his trousers that he sees it.

It’s probably just instructions for use or something equally ridiculous but still, Dean doesn’t like littering so he takes it in his hand.

As it turns out, it’s not an instruction manual but a small, handwritten note. If not for the signature at the end he would have thought it had been put in there on accident, but Dean isn’t that dense. It’s a phone number with a “Cas” attached at the bottom and his heart stops for a second before going into a crazy loop.

He didn’t imagine this. Oh God. He didn’t - he doesn’t need to have a stupid crush because a crush is one-sided and this is very real. Unless, of course, Cas just wants to casually talk about poems and books. That’s possible. Maybe. He can’t think clearly.

Because it seems like the most natural thing to do, he turns around abruptly and goes back into the store.

**—————————————-**

“Hey, Cas,” he says when he enters the bookstore and smiles when he sees him looking up frowning. It’s adorable and it’s a relief to actually admit this things out loud (at least in his head).

“Hello, Dean. Is something wrong?” The way he looks at him, completely oblivious and composed, makes Dean doubt for a moment that he did read the note right. But there’s no turning back now; he already looks like a complete fool.

Might as well go all the way. “I got this note,” he says, trying to sound more confident than he feels. “And I was just wondering, would you consider any meetings we schedule with this phone number as our second or third date? Because that thing in the café was, you know, serious shit man.”

Cas laughs uncertain and Dean continues: “What I actually want to say is, and what  I want to do is: call you if that’s okay and make another date?”

“Oh thank God,” Cas mutters and lets out a surprisingly shaky breath. “Yes, yes, of course, Dean.”

**—————————————-**

He still forgets his umbrella every now and then (now Cas is the one scolding him for it) and has to seek shelter in the bookstore but well, he doesn’t mind.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also on [tumblr.](https://mijrake.tumblr.com/)  
> [Rebloggable link](https://mijrake.tumblr.com/post/163156675958/rain-2888-words-its-suprising-how-much-a-few)


End file.
